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Plans afoot for fourth bridge between Argentina and Uruguay

An environmental impact study for a 1,780m bridge over the River Uruguay is to be presented to the public this month.

The new bridge is planned to connect the city of Bella Unión in Artigas, northwest Uruguay with the town of Monte Caseros in Corrientes province, around 500km north of Buenos Aires, Argentina.

The EIS was carried out by Consorcio PI, a consortium consisting of Oscar G Grimaux y Asociados, Consulbaires Ingenieros Consultores, and LK Sur.

The initiative was led by the local community of Corrientes, which felt that the region was badly connected. The EIS points out that Monte Caseros suffers relative isolation that makes it difficult to benefit from commercial and tourist transit.

On the Argentine side, the two-lane bridge connects to the existing roads network at the intersection of routes 25 and 129. On the Uruguay side, to the east, it connects with Route 3, around 3km south of Bella Unión.

The bridge requires 6.5km of access roads on the Argentine side and 3.4km on the Uruguayan side.

According to the EIS, the Uruguayan owners of 212 hectares of sugar cane fields that would be affected by the project are not opposed to construction of the bridge.

The project is not expected to result in high costs due to the relative low width and depth of the River Uruguay at the potential site.

The site of the new bridge is around 9km away from the Bella Union-Barra do Quarai Bridge, which connects Bella Unión with the city of Barra do Quaraí in Brasil.

The authors of the EIS estimate that the project would take 20 months and create 500 direct jobs.

Public consultations regarding the project are planned 13-19 March. The final decision will be made by the presidents of both nations.